Tanji exiting WOAI

Longtime San Antonio news anchor and reporter Tanji Patton is leaving WOAI this month after 17 years with the station.

Patton announced the news that her contract hadn’t been renewed to her stunned colleagues today in WOAI’s newsroom. Not even her 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. co-anchor, Randy Beamer, who hugged her after her announcement, knew ahead of time of her upcoming departure, she said.

The Texas native’s last on-air broadcast will be on Dec. 14, she said, when she would bid farewell on the 6 p.m. news.

Patton said she didn’t ask why her contract, which is up Dec. 15, wasn’t renewed; she added that she just felt it was a good opportunity to move forward with new plans.

“I knew about a year ago, when the sale of the station was announced, that change was in the air, that this was a good time to start pursuing what I really wanted to do,” she said.

Clear Channel announced a deal in April to sell its TV stations, including WOAI, to Providence Equity Partners, but the sale has been stalled by FCC hurdles.

“As you know, we are not at liberty to discuss private personnel or contract information,” said station spokesman Greg Derkowski.

It’s no secret, however, that the station’s late newscasts have been a consistent No. 3 in household ratings, behind KSAT and KENS.

In a statement released by WOAI, Todd complimented Patton on her talent as a newswoman: “News 4 and all our staff salute Tanji’s many contributions to our station and the greater San Antonio community. As an award-winning journalist and model community servant, Tanji has inspired viewers throughout our market. We celebrate Tanji’s determination to move on to a new stage of her broadcasting career.”

That new stage: Something she and her husband of 25 years have been working on together that would incorporate the activities they both loved.

“I am going to try my hand at creating and producing a television program that’s all about my true passions in life  food, travel and fun,” said Patton, who added that she hoped to take her programming and Webcast concepts to a national audience.

It’s no wonder, though, that Patton’s co-workers were shocked  some even became tearful. Patton was one newscaster who threw herself into every aspect of the business. Many of her investigative reports had earned statewide and national interest and acclaim. According to a WOAI press release, her coverage of issues such as racial discrimination in the child adoption process led to legal changes in Texas. Her probe into the finances of the San Antonio Water System earned her an Emmy in 2006.

On the lighter side, Patton was the original host and executive producer of WOAI’s local lifestyle show “San Antonio Living,” from 1997 to 2002, when she was asked to return to news. She added the 10 p.m. newscast to her 6 p.m. duties when Debora Daniels retired about five years ago.

Her hosting expertise also got exposure nationally when she co-hosted “Live With Regis” twice in 2000 during the nationwide search for a replacement for the departing Kathie Lee Gifford.

As for who will replace Patton as Beamer’s co-anchor, Derkowski said that naturally the station would conduct a nationwide search for the job. They’ll have their job cut out for them; it won’t be easy finding someone as hard-working, thorough and versatile as Patton.